Our National Health Service has never needed us more than it does today.
We have all been struck by the stories of staff who have been dedicating every hour that they can in the fight against the coronavirus.
The nurses, doctors, care workers, porters, cleaners and everyone working in the service – we owe them a huge debt of gratitude.
And that is why so many of us opened our windows or stepped outside on Thursday night to clap for our carers.
But if we are to repay that debt we cannot ignore the challenges they face in the weeks and months ahead.
And we must call the Government out whenever it fails to give our NHS and our care workers everything they need – not to score political points, but to stand up for those we owe most to at a time of national emergency.
(Image: Daily Mirror/Andy Stenning)
That’s why I want to set out the three things the Prime Minister should priorities for the NHS and staff during this unprecedented period.
Firstly, alongside an urgent increase in our ventilator capacity, the Government must provide far more reassurance to frontline staff that they will have access to the equipment they need to keep them safe. Masks, gloves and aprons are an essential armour against the virus.
We must keep our NHS staff safe so they can keep us all safe.
This should not just be limited to hospital staff, though.
The Government should set out in the clearest possible terms what support is available to staff working in our care system, when that equipment will be available and how they can access it.
We cannot expect staff to provide adequate care if we are not caring for our staff.
(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)
Secondly, we are miles behind where we need to be on testing. We are still only testing around 8,000 people day, far fewer than some other countries.
The Government has never adequately explained why this is the case and there is no coordinated national plan to rollout any new tests that could soon be made available.
Ministers must learn from the mistakes of the past few weeks, boost the UK’s capacity for testing and ensure our NHS and care workers are the first in line.
Thirdly, ministers cannot turn a blind eye to the extraordinary pressures this epidemic will be placing on an already broken social care system.
Decisive action to fix and fund care for the elderly and vulnerable in this country is long overdue.
However, the immediate crisis requires immediate attention. I am therefore calling on the Prime Minister, as he has promised for the NHS, to do whatever it takes to support social care.
Ministers should work with councils, charities and care homes to ensure resources are available to guarantees no one is forced to suffer unnecessarily because of this crisis.
The coronavirus crisis is showing us just how valuable our public services are.
The NHS is one of our country’s greatest achievements.
It shows that we are at our best as a country when we work together for the common good.
It cares for us and now we must care for it too.
